


Like Smoke Through My Fingers

by NHMoonshadow



Series: Running Uphill [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, But Connor’s not aware of that, Gavin Reed Redemption, Grief/Mourning, M/M, So much angst, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:01:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29424231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NHMoonshadow/pseuds/NHMoonshadow
Summary: From the moment of his deviation, Connor was left scrambling to mitigate the damage of what he had set in motion. Now Jericho was under siege. Markus was somewhere below deck setting the ship to blow, and Connor was trying his best to help evacuate.Help arrives from an unlikely source.
Relationships: Connor/Gavin Reed
Series: Running Uphill [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567129
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	Like Smoke Through My Fingers

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion piece for my Time Loop fic, Running Uphill. Many of my readers requested to see Connor’s POV, and Carlas specifically requested this scene from loop #241.
> 
> Haven’t read Running Uphill? That’s okay! Here’s what you need to know:
> 
> Soulmates are a rare but known phenomenon. The name of your soulmate will appear on your left forearm the first time you make skin contact. The words are always in color unless one dies, then their partner’s Soulmark will change to a cracked and faded grey.
> 
> Gavin has been through A LOT at this point, and this is fairly early on in the main fic. If you want to see these boys eventually get their happy ending, then I recommend reading it.
> 
> I wasn’t originally gonna post this today, but my friend totally begged me to do it, so here we are. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Everything was spiraling out of control.

From the moment of his deviation, Connor was left scrambling to mitigate the damage of what he had set in motion. It wasn’t intentional, but that didn’t negate the fact that he had. 

Now Jericho was under siege. Markus was somewhere below deck, setting the ship to blow. And Connor was trying his best to help evacuate. 

One of Markus’ associates, North, was moving through the ship with him. Together, the two of them moved through the ship, helping stragglers as they made their own escape. 

Then they came across a small group that were too scared to move quickly. 

And the FBI closed in. 

It all happened so fast. 

North was trying to get the others to move. Connor took point and drew his weapon as his preconstruction software identified four humans inbound and developed a plan of action. 

Three shots fired in rapid succession before Connor could even pull the trigger. 

Two FBI agents dropped, revealing a man in civilian clothing who was holding a smoking gun. 

With a whispered _fuck_ the man buckled, an exit wound visible on this chest. 

Connor adjusted for the unexpected ally and aimed over the man’s shoulder to take out the third FBI agent. 

Only then did the recognition set in. 

And it was the last person he would ever expect. 

“Detective Reed?!”

He didn’t remember moving, or dropping his gun. Within seconds he was kneeling in front of the detective, supporting him as he applied firm pressure on both sides of the gunshot wounds to slow the bleeding. 

His scans told him that his efforts were pointless, but he had to try. 

He _wanted_ to try. 

After all, the Detective shouldn’t even _be here._

But he was, and Connor wanted to know why. 

He remembered his first encounter with Gavin Reed in the interrogation room. Remembered his obvious disregard for androids and his quick temper. Remembered seeing down the barrel of his gun. 

How could this be the same man? A man who knowingly gunned down FBI agents to protect deviants? 

Connor wanted him to stay long enough to give him an answer. 

“Don’ do that,” Gavin begged him quietly, “don’ you cry for me. Not me.” 

He was crying?

He was. 

Connor hadn’t even realized.

All he could do was watch the man’s face as he huffed out a pained and hysterical laugh. Gavin’s expression twisted, eyes brimming with his own unshed tears, met Connor’s gaze head on and _smiled_ , of all things. 

“You deviant?” Gavin asked, faint, breathless. 

Connor nods and offers a shaky, “Yes.”

His face brightened as he mumbled, “Good, tha’s good,” and slumped, boneless and heavy against Connor’s shoulder. 

Any questions Connor had crumbled and died when Gavin tucked his face against his neck. As if that tiny bit of knowledge was both a relief and a comfort to the man. 

All Connor could do is hold him tighter as his pulse began to slow, his programming giving him an estimated countdown to how much time Gavin had left. 

“Connor, we’ve got to go,” North was telling him frantically, tugging on his jacket. 

He shrugged her off. 

He wasn’t going to let Gavin Reed die alone. 

North tried harder, but he just clung to the man tighter as the timer kept ticking down. 

“Go,” Gavin whispered. 

He had too many thoughts running through his head to properly verbalize, so he shook his head in refusal instead. 

“ _Go,_ ” Gavin pleaded. 

But Connor could not be moved until there were only a few seconds left on the countdown. Only then did his grip become slack, finally allowing North and the others to pull him from the dying human. 

And even then, he never looked away until Gavin took his very last breath. 

  
  


Hours later the survivors of the raid were hiding in an old abandoned church, their pitiful number scattered throughout the building. 

Connor found a secluded corner and sat down to process everything that just happened. On the way down his wrist got caught up on a sharp piece of rubble, scratching along his wrist and making his synthskin momentarily retreat. 

A flash of grey where there should be white caught his attention. 

Curious, Connor settled against the wall and retracted his skin to investigate. 

And stared. 

Oh.

Was that why . . . ?

It must have been. 

Because there, in faded and cracked grey print, was the name _Gavin Reed_. 

He traced the letters with his fingers, mind numb. 

His thoughts turned to the two Traci’s in the Eden Club, each bearing the others serial number on their left forearm. Amanda had dismissed it as a forgery, likely done by humans as a joke. With the frequent memory wipes and software instability, they were just confused about the origins of the marks. 

Of course it was a lie. 

_Of course it was._

How long had Gavin known? Soulmarks only appeared after skin contact, and Connor hadn’t seen the man since the morning after the Ortiz case. Gavin had been in the break room with Officer Chen, each with a cup of coffee in hand.

He replayed that memory now, searching for-

Ah. There it was. 

Claiming he had work to do, Gavin had excused himself from Chen’s company and offered Connor an exhausted twitch of a smile on his way out.

Their hands had brushed as he passed by.

He must have discovered his Soulmark later that night, and given their first meeting, Connor doubted that he had been pleased about it.

But that part didn’t matter, did it?

Gavin had killed men to protect Connor.

Gavin, anti-android Gavin, braved an FBI raid to come for his android Soulmate. 

And had died in the attempt.

Connor had held his Soulmate while he died, and he hadn’t even known.

Holding his Soulmark close to his chest, he sat in his lonely corner of this forgotten church and cried for what he had lost.


End file.
